Convertible toy battleship and tank-car



W. E. McLAREN.

CONVERTIBLE TOY BATTLESHIP AND TANK CAR. APPLICATION FILED AuG.21. 1919.

1 350 ,4 1 7 I Patentd Aug. 24, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E i m w. E. McLAREN CONVERTIBLE TOY BATTLESHIP AND TANK GAR. APPLICATIONFILED AUG-21. 1919,

1,350,417. Patented Aug. 24, 192m.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. MQLABEN, .OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO MoLAREN-SLEIGHT CORPORATION, OF ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN,INCORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

CONVERTIBLE TOY BATTLESHIP AND TANK-CAR.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. MCLAREN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvementsin Convertible Toy Battleships and Tank-Cars, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a structural and convertibletoy and consists in certain novel features and peculiarities of theconstruction, combination arrangement and operation of thevario'us partsthereof as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specificallyclaimed.

The principalobject of the invention is to provide a toy for the use andamusement of children, the parts of which shall be so constructed andmay-be so arranged as to afford a toy battleship of unique andattractive design, which can be readily converted into a toy tank car ofthe design or in simulation of the tanks or such cars used inv thelatewar, or vice versa, which shall be simple in construction, strong,durable and highly efficient and serviceable in use or operation.

, A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the abovementioned general character which will not only furnish amusement tochildren when used as a toy battleship or toy tank car, but which willrequire considerable ingenuity on the part of the user to convert thetoy from one type to another, thereby educating to some extent,children, in the structural art.

Still another object is to provide simple and efficient means forlooking or holding the parts of the toy securely in position without theuse of nails, screws and the like, to the end, that the conversion "ofthe device or the disassembling of its parts in one form and thereassembling of said parts in another form may be accomplished with easeand rapidity.

A still further object is to provide a de- 7 opening 15 I Specificationof Letters Patent. Patented A g; 241. 1920 Application filed August 21,1919. Serial No. 318,897. i

In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate an embodiment ofthe in vention Figure 1 is a View partly in elevation and partly inlongitudinal vertical section of the toy with its parts assembled toform a battleship. i

I Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the parts arranged in the positionsthey will occupy to form a toy tank car. 1

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the tank car, and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4: of Fig. 2 looking inthe direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 7designates the bottom or hull of the ship, the numeral 8 the bodythereof, and the numerals 9 and 10 superimposed decks, and the numeral11 a gun turret or another deck. The three mem- V bers 7, 8 and 9 aresubstantially of the same shape and dimensions as will be understood byreference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, and are elongated andtapered toward. each of their, ends. The bottom member 7 is providednear its middle in its upper surface with a pair of sockets or openings12 which are arranged at suitable distances apart on the longitudinalaxial line of said member.

Located in each of the sockets or openings 12 is the lower end of acylindrical rod or member 13, which, when the parts are as sembled toform a battleship as shown in Fig. 1 represent the smoke stacks of theship and serve to hold. the super-imposed members thereof in positionagainst longitudinal or lateral movement. Each of the rods or smokestacks 13 is firmly secured at its lower end to the member 7 by means ofscrews 14 extended through the bottom of said member and engaging thelower ends of said rods. On each of its side edges forward and aft ofthe transverse axial line thereof the member 7 is provided with an whichopenings are for the reception of the axles 16 of the wheels 17, a. pairof which wheels is located on each side of the bottom member 7 of theship, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1. of the drawings. Each of themembers8, 9,- 10, and. 11 is pro and to which it is by preference permanentlysecured. The member 10 is provided on its upper surface with atransversely disposed rectangular recess 19 the main portion of which islocated betwen the rods or smoke stacks 13, see Fig. 1 of the drawings,

' which recess is provided for the purpose to be presently explained.

The uppermost member or gun turret representing memberll is providednear each of its ends with a downwardly extended transversely disposedrecess 20 the purpose 7 and use of which will soon be explained.

, As shown, the member 10 is provided at each of its ends with alongitudinally ex tended rod 21 which are fashioned and may be painted asuitable color to indicate guns or cannons. The rods 21 are bypreference fixed in the member 10 and are directed for wardly andrearwardly of the device in both of the constructions thereof. Each ofthe ends of the turret representing member 11 is provided with adetachably mounted rod 22 which may be shaped and otherwise camouflagedto simulate guns or cannons. As shown in Fig. 1 the rods or guns 22 arealso directed forwardly and rearwardly of thetoy when the same isconstructed to form a battleship.

. Each of the members 7 and 8 is provided forwardly of its transverseaxial line near one of its edges with an opening 23 which by preferenceextend entirely through said members and are for the reception of theaxles 16 for the wheels 17 used on the device when its parts have beenconverted into a toy tank car as is .clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4:of the drawings. Each of the members 7 and 8 is provided at its middlenear its upper edge with a transverse opening 24. which are for thereception of the inner ends of the detach-able rods 22 which the member11 carries at each of its ends.

Each of the axles 16 employed in the construction of the toy bypreference is of the cotter-pin type, that is, each axle is dividedlongitudinally from its inner end to its outer end thus forming twoprongs 25 which are united at their outer ends by means of a spring loop26 which has a tendency to expand or separate the inner portions of theprongs 25 as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 4 of thedrawing. This construction of the axles is of great importance as itpermits the axles to be readily inserted in the openings 15 or 23 in themembers 7 and 8 in which they will be securely held by the expansion ortendency to separate of the prongs 25 thereof. 7

Another important object attained by the aforesaid construction of theaxle, is, that when the child removes the wheels and axles from themembers 7 and 8 in the operation of disassembling the parts from oneform of the toy the axles will be prevented dislocation from the wheelsthereby preventing the loss of the axles unless the wheel carrying thesame is also lost. Each of the members 7, 8 and 9 may be provided at oneend thereof with an opening 27 through which a cord or wire can beextended and used for pulling the'device when in the battleship form, asshown in Fig. 1, for it is apparent that said openings will registerwith one another.

'It will be understood that when the parts are assembled as shown inFig. 1 of the drawings, thereby forming the toy battleship, that thesaid parts will be securely held against longitudinal or lateraldislocation by means of the rods or smoke stacks 13 which may be paintedin simulation with. the smoke stacks of ships. It will also beunderstood that the openings 18. in each of the members mounted on thebottom memher 7 is of such size as to fit snugly around the rods 13 insuch a manner that they will be retained in position against accidentalvertical movement by the gravity of 7 said parts and the snug fit oftheir openingsv on the said rods.

Assuming that the arts. have been assembled as shown in *ig. 1 andgit isdesired to convert the device into a toy tank car, the following andsimple operation isperformed. The wheels and axles 17 and 16respectively are removedfrom the openings in the side edges of themember 7 and the members 9, 10 and 11 are removed from the rods or smokestacks 13 after which the members 7 and 8 are turned to rest on theiredges when the member 8 may be slid from the member 7 onthe rods13 whichnow become transverse supporting rods or mem bers, until the outersurface of the member 8 is flush with the free. ends of the rods 13, seeFigs. 3 and 4: of the drawings- When the members 7 and 8 which nowconstitute the sides of the tank car are thus positioned, the member 9,to the upper surface of which the member 10 is fixed, is placed betweenthe adjacent sides. of the member 7 and 8 and will rest on thetransversely extended supporting rods 13 with the recess 19 on the uppersurface of the part 10 extendedcrossfit into the recesses 20 on thelower surface of the member-.11 near each of its ends. hen this memberis so applied, it will be understood that its lower portion will fit inthe depression 19' of the part 10 and that the side pieces 7 and 8 andthe members- 10 and 11 will be firmly secured together againstaccidental dislocation. The axles 16 of the wheels 17 can now beinserted into the openings 23 located in the side piece 7 and 8 neartheir lower edges when the device will be completed in the form of a toytank car.

To render the simulation of a tank car more perfect the outer surfacesof the members 7 and 8 may have displayed thereon along or near theiredges an imitation of a caterpillar traction belt or chain 28, which sso disposed as to indicate connection with the wheels 17 for impartingrotation thereto. As a further simulation of a tank'car, the sides 7 and8 thereof may have displayed on their outer surface by means of paint orotherwise diagrams or pictures 29 and 30 of armored housings and gunsprotruding therefrom respectively.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a convertible toy, the combination with an elongated bottommember, of a pair of spaced apart rods fixedv at one of their ends tosaid member and extended at right angles therefrom a plurality ofelongated members each having a pair of spaced apart and registeringopenings, a smaller member fixedly mounted on one of the last namedmembers and having a pair of openings in register with said otheropenings and provided with a transversely disposed groove between itsopenings, a projection in simulation of a cannon extended from each endof the fixed member, another member of less size than the fixed memberand having a pair of spaced apart openings to register with the otheropenings and provided near each of its ends with a transverse recess,the last named member having at each of its ends a longitudinallyextended opening therein, a rod in simulation of a cannon detachablymounted in each of said openings, the said members being super-imposedone on the other in the order named with the rods on the first namedmember extended through said registering openings and beyond the lastnamed member to provide the effect of smoke stacks whereby a miniaturebattleship, in appearance, as one form of the toy, will be provided, andwhereby the removal of the member carrying the fixed part and therecessed member from the said rods can be effected, and the memberadjacent to the member carrying the centrally disposed rods can be slidtherefrom on said rods, and the member carrying the fixed member can'beplaced between said members and supported by the said rods, and therecessed member can be placed cross-wiseof the thus constituted sidemembers with its recesses engaging the upper edges of the said membersand its lower portion engaging the groove in the fixed member, and sothat the recessed member can be fixed to the side members by means ofthe detachable rods carried by the recessed member to produce, inappearance, a miniature tank car as another form of the toy.

2. A convertible toy, including in combination an elongated memberhaving a pair of spaced apart and transversely disposed openings in eachof its side edges and a pair of similarly disposed openings extendedtherein from one of its faces near one of its edges, a wheeled axle ofthe cotter-pin type adapted to be interchangeably located at its innerportion in each of the openings in the edges of said member and in eachof the openings in the faces of said member, a pair of spaced apart rodsfixed at one of their ends on said member near its middle and extendedsubstantially at right angles therefrom, a plurality of elongatedmembers each having a pair of spaced apart openings for the reception ofsaid rods and super-imposed one on the other and on the first namedmember, one of said members having a transverse groove and another ofsaid members having a transverse recess near each of its ends, a rod insimulation of a cannon mounted on each end of the grooved member and oneach end of the recessed member, the rods on the latter member beingdetach-ably mounted thereon, another one of the elongated members havinga pair of spaced apart openings extended therein from one of its faces,two of said wheeled axles of the cotter-pin type also adapted to belocated in the last named openings, all constructed, arranged andoperating substantially as shown and described.

3. A convertible toy including in combination an elongated member havingin each of its side edges at least one transversely disposed opening andin one of its faces at least one similarly disposed opening, an axleconsisting of a pair of prongs united together at one of their ends andlocated in substantial parallelism with one another and having atendency to separate at their free portions adapted for interchangeablelocation in the opening or openings of the side edges of said member andin the open- 7 ing or openings in the face of said member,

and a wheel rotatably mounted on the axle near the juncture of itsprongs.

4. In a convertible toy the combination with an elongated member of apair of spaced apart rods fixed thereto at one of their ends andextended therefrom in substantial parallelism with one another, anotherelongated member having a pair of spaced apart openings and adapted tobe movably mounted on said rods, a third elongated member having afixed'part mounted thereon between its ends, said fixed part having inits outer surface a transverse groove, the last named member adapted tobelocated longitudinally between the adja* cent surfaces of the membercarrying the said rods and the movable member and to its recessesengaging the upper edges of the two first named members, and means tofix the fourth member in said position. 7 p

'In testimony whereof, I hereunto have set 'my hand and seal, this 7thday of'August,

WILLIAM E. MQLAREN.

